2.  infancy (0-9 months), early toddler (9-18 months), and late toddler (18-36 months)

3.  Infants and toddlers- Birth to 24 months  Children two to five

4.  Knowledge: facts, concepts, ideas, vocabulary, stories and other aspects of children’s culture  Skills: small units of action, such as physical, social, verbal, counting and drawing skills  Dispositions: habits of mind or tendencies to respond to certain situations in certain ways  Feelings: emotional states, some are innate (e.g., fear), while others are learned (e.g., flexibility or perseverance)

5.  “ Play is central to curriculum practice, as it allows children to be active learners, interacting with a wide variety of materials and engaging with projects and learning centers in the process. Varied approaches to play and methods of learning are encouraged”

6.  “Studies have shown that investments in quality early education can produce a rate of return to society significantly higher than returns to most stock market investments or traditional economic development projects.”

7.  Investments made in children, beginning at birth, are direct investments in Jamaica’s sustainable development. Investing in young children ― ensuring that they receive good health care, quality care and adequate stimulation ― is the best hope for overcoming the HIV/AIDS epidemic and breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty and violence.

8.  Children need guidance to learn how to monitor their thinking, to be able to understand what it means to learn and how to do it.

9.  Children learn by doing and exploring, so give them the opportunity to enjoy learning in a number of different ways.

10.  Help babies move their bodies when listening to music. Play slow music while holding babies close and swaying gently. Switch to songs with a faster tempo, and move your body (as you hold the baby) along with the music. You can also lay babies on the floor and move their arms or legs to the beat.

11.  What We Need: Music with different rhythms, CD or tape player  WHAT WE DO:  1. Place the infant on your lap and clap your hands to the rhythm of the music so that the infant will try to imitate your actions.

12.  Parents should keep their children clean by regular bathing.

13.  What We Need: Bath with tepid water and wash cloth  WHAT WE DO:  1. Test the temperature of water with your elbow and make sure it is comfortable enough to bathe the infant in.  2. Put infant in bath water and allow him to kick legs and splash water with arms.  3. Drip water from wash cloth on to baby’s body, legs and arms while encouraging him to reach for the wash.  4. Bathe baby.

14.  Hold babies close and sing to them, maintaining eye contact if this does not overstimulate them.

15.  What We Need: No materials needed  WHAT WE DO:  1. Rub the palm of the infant’s hands softly in a small circular motion.  2. Sing ‘Round and round the garden’ as you rub his hand, touching each finger gently as you sing ‘Hurray, Hurray…’  3. Bring his hands up so that he can see them. Round and round the garden, Round and round we go (repeat once) Hurray! Hurray! Hurray! Hurray! Hurray! (To the tune of sweetly sings the donkey)

16.  Dramatic Play, includes dressing up in dress up clothes. (over clothes they already have on)

17.  What We Need: Clothing  WHAT WE DO:  1. Say the name of each piece of clothing as you dress the child, e.g. “Your pants go on your legs and your shirt goes over your head.”  2. Continue naming each item - socks, shoes etc.  3. When you are finished dressing or undressing, sing the following song to the tune of  “Are You Sleeping?”  We are dressing, we are dressing. Now we are through, now we are through. You look nice and clean, you look nice and clean. Hip, hip, hooray!

18.  I find it interesting that the United States is very concentrated on the findings of psychology, everything is all about scheduling, self worth, independence, and more is placed on the parents. I’d like to notice the differences in Jamaica.

19.  From what I have read Jamaica seems to be more emotional, cultural, and about the children. They don’t put a lot of the work on the parents, they are more open and not as private as the United States.

20.  http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy- priorities/early-childhood-education-care/ http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy- priorities/early-childhood-education-care/  http://www.unicef.org/jamaica/early_childhood.html http://www.unicef.org/jamaica/early_childhood.html  http://www.ecc.gov.jm/Downloads/Curriculum/Reso urce_Book_final.pdf http://www.ecc.gov.jm/Downloads/Curriculum/Reso urce_Book_final.pdf  http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/students_family/ earlychildhood/files/earlychildhood_infant- toddler.pdf http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/students_family/ earlychildhood/files/earlychildhood_infant- toddler.pdf  http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/Early/e arly_childhood_guide.pdf http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/Early/e arly_childhood_guide.pdf  http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/201003/Parlakian Web0310.pdf http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/201003/Parlakian Web0310.pdf